Carving out the slightest opening proved to be difficult for
Kansas forward Caroline Smith.
A stifling UCLA defense limited the 19-goal scorer and National
Player of the Year candidate to just one shot as the Bruins shut
out the Jayhawks 1-0 Friday night and moved within one victory of a
berth in the College Cup.
“Obviously (Smith) is a great player, but we really took
care of her tonight,” UCLA All-American defender Nandi Pryce
said. “That’s the best defensive performance
we’ve had all year.”
At 5-foot-2, just getting a touch on the ball was difficult for
the diminutive Smith, who was hampered somewhat by a large brace
around her right knee. UCLA defenders Pryce, Amy Fazio, Katherine
Lee and Kendall Billingsley stalked Smith all over the field,
bracketing her with at least two blue jerseys whenever the Jayhawks
gained possession.
Smith said the attention was not unprecedented, and that she had
faced greater defensive pressure during the conference season,
after which she was named the Big-12 Player of the Year.
“They were watching out for me, but not as much as other
teams have in the past,” she said. “I don’t think
we played our best game. We had a couple of good chances, but we
just didn’t quite connect.”
Smith herself probably had the best opportunity of the game for
the Jayhawks in the 72nd minute. Teammate Lauren Williams slid the
ball past a UCLA defender into the Bruin goalmouth, but Smith could
only manage a weak touch on the ball, and goalkeeper Arianna
Criscione easily gobbled it up.
“The defense was great,” UCLA coach Jill Ellis said.
“Their whole offense was (Smith). Any time we lost
possession, we got a body right next to her.”
Ellis stopped short of calling Smith the most dangerous forward
the Bruins have faced, but a large part of that could be due to the
Jayhawks’ scheme.
Kansas appeared to be so focused on getting Smith the ball that
it neglected its other personnel.
“Because they were looking for (Smith) so much, they
didn’t see other open players,” Pryce said. “So
we just went with her because we didn’t have to worry about
anyone else.”
The UCLA defense won’t be able to key in on one player in
its next game Friday against Penn State, as the Nittany Lions
feature three players who have posted double-digit goals.
But the Bruins, who have allowed just six shots combined in
three postseason matches, appear to be up to the challenge.
“We were solid in the back, great on clearances and
one-on-one defending,” Pryce said. “We’re excited
going into next week.”